An online presence can serve as a shop window, a sales force and a checkout – with seamless transition from one stage to the next. As such a large number of companies have made the transition from purely offline to an amalgamation of offline and online or indeed a purely online business.

Once a functional and effective website is in place it can almost automatically convert leads into prospects and prospects into sales without the need for much (if any) human intervention on the part of the company.

Establishing Viability

Before jumping headfirst into website creation it is essential to thoroughly consider the reasons why you’re building an online presence and what you intend to gain from it.

Establish Aims

If you’re a retailer then your primary aim will likely be revenue generation through e-commerce sales – for some industries however, the goals are not quite so clear-cut. Those who operate in the B2B arena dealing with office furniture sales for example, may wish to build a website which serves as a sales brochure to elicit enquiries from prospective clients, whilst other organisations could well create a website purely for increased brand exposure.

Specific goals and aims must be established before anything else is done to ensure that all aspects of your website and online marketing are tailored to best serve the business and achieve your stipulated goals.

Establish Market

With goals and aims freshly established there remains the vital task of assessing whether the market exists for you to achieve a high enough volume of conversion (completions of established aims) to justify the cost of entering the online arena. Examination of competitor websites and use of tools such as the Google Adwords Keyword Research tool will help you to understand the demand for your product, service or offering. Essentially, the more people using search engines to search for terms (referred to as ‘keywords’) which are relevant to your industry: the more of a pre-existing market there is.

If there does not appear to be a significant pre-existing market, then you will have to be especially ruthless during the course of the next stage.

Establish Budgets, ROI + KPIs

Unless you have web design, web development and web marketing specialists in-house (in which case this whole series of blogs is unlikely to be of much use!) the creation and development of a website and the subsequent digital marketing services will require capital. How much capital is dependent upon a vast number of variables; not to mention your available budget. At this stage the services of a digital marketing agency are likely to be incredibly useful. Digital marketing specialists are able to outline the website functionality you’ll require to achieve your goals, the cost of website design, development and maintenance and the cost of SEO and other online marketing services to ensure success.

By consulting closely with a digital marketing agency – or indeed utilising your own experience you will be able to establish two vital acronyms: ROI and KPIs. The Return On Investment is essential – if you can’t foresee an ROI which offers definite benefit to your company then it may be necessary to re-think your aims and market. Key Performance Indicators serve as benchmarks – basically a series of targets which demonstrate that you are on course to achieve (or better) your desired ROI. Any digital marketing company worth their salt should be able to assist you in formulating and ultimately facilitate the attainment of KPIs spanning from website development through to 12 months from launch.

If the figures add up so far then it’s time to move on to the next step – Getting Online.

During the winter season, people are at an advantageous position in which they can plan a complete overhaul of our gardens. Renovating gardens in the months before summer can give you much more time to shop around, find a style that is right for you and build your dream garden; ideal for entertaining guests and hosting dinner parties. Consider purchasing some modern additions for you renovated garden, some high quality designer garden furniture can be a fantastic way of impressing family and friends during a summer BBQ or get together.

If you are planning a large scale overhaul when renovating our garden then consider getting stuck into some serious landscaping. Remodelling your garden but only in content but in the physical layout and appearance can add new life and energy to your household. Measure how much space you have at your disposal and consider the features you wish to include. Do you want a large seated dining area for hosting? Or are you more interested in creating a tranquil paradise when you can unwind, enjoy the sunshine and relax? Asking yourself these questions will help to form a picture in your mind of what sort of features your garden should include.

Adding lighting to your garden can add a huge amount of style, placing a fire pit or solar lanterns around the area can look great when dining outside on a summers evening. As the sun sets the gentle glow of your garden lighting can ease the transition between day and night and being a warm feeling to the table. This is another addition that can look great and have an added effect when hosting a dinner party or gathering.

Water features are certainly a great way to add a luxurious touch when remodelling your garden, but be sure to source a feature that is a little different from the common water features you tend to see quite often. If possible, opt for a larger, more impressive feature; adding a common pillared water fountain is not going to make your garden stand out from others. Strategically situating your chosen garden lighting near your new water feature can look stunning at night; illuminated running water will add a real touch of class to and dinner party.

So there we have it, some simple tips and ideas that can make a fantastic difference when planning a garden renovation. Remember, the sooner you plan what additions you want to make, the more time you will have to create your dream garden and wow the neighbours!

This post was written on behalf of DG Office Supplies

Underlining a stunningly successful year for the Trafford Park-based company, DGOS Office Supplies has scooped the prestigious ‘Dealer Excellence’ award at the BOSS Industry Awards 2011.

The BOSS (British Office Supplies and Services) Federation is the authoritative body for the entire UK office products industry, representing all businesses along the manufacturing and distribution chain. The award was collected, in front of his peers, by DGOS Managing Director Darren Carr at a sparkling awards presentation and dinner in London at the Lancaster London Hotel, hosted by celebrity Bobby Davro. Despite this being the ‘Oscars’ of the office products industry, there were certainly no tears during his acceptance – just a well-earned sense of pride.

Darren says: ”Winning the ‘Dealer Excellence’ award 2011 and being recognised as the UK’s best in class within our industry is fantastic for all at DGOS and our clients alike as they know they are with a market leader. The award comes as a result of a tremendous effort by all my team in taking our company to new levels in every area over the past 12 months.

“We have experienced what has to be one of, if not the best, years in DGOS’s history. We have broken every previous DGOS sales statistic, including turnover, profit, client retention, winning new business and overall net profitability.  These improvements in isolation are great, but in combination are fantastic, and made for a great presentation to the judging panel.

“This year, our hard work has culminated in us picking up two of the best national awards given in our industry; the BOSS award and the IDS League award in July.”

Darren attributes the success to a couple of key areas; a strong team and the establishment of effective, consistent procedures, backed by solid training models. DGOS office supplies strive to innovate across the company, from enhancing processes to establishing bespoke software solutions. “Importantly, we have a great supply partner in Spicers to assist us in meeting our goals. They have supported DGOS from day one, helping us to get to where we are today.”

The DGOS of 2011has deliberately become a ‘quicker, slicker’ company, according to Darren: “My focus was to build a fresher and more focused team ready to take on the world. This meant ‘cleaning house’ and ridding the business of unnecessary, old or inactive areas. The figures from each quarter of our business has been on the rise every since.

“The model is clear and simple – ‘give more than our competitors in every area’.  We listen to our clients and ensure we deliver what they need to run their businesses. We consistently give our customers this level of service and they respond in kind with loyalty and their hard earned money.”

Of course, success has its price, and DGOS will be expected to keep growing – not that it seems to worry Darren overly. “Looking to the future, we have extremely high expectations and have accordingly set some very ambitious targets for the next five years.

“We want to keep improving our service and product accessibility to our ever-growing client base. We have an aggressive growth plan and are constantly looking to bolster our team with great sales people. Our brand is getting stronger daily and we intend to maximise this now and in the future.”

Since a whole host of home improvement and interior design focussed television programmes burst onto our screens more than a decade ago the art of home beautification has become increasingly popular. With celebrity gurus sharing tips on living room revitalisation on a budget and the most fashionable styles of contemporary kitchen; no room in the fashion conscious homeowner’s house is likely to have been left un-accessorised…except perhaps the bathroom. This is even more likely to be the case in the office environment. The office bathroom is often entirely without flair and purely there for functional ends – with the various fixtures regarded much like all of the other office furniture.

The bathroom is however a truly unique space – it can serve as a short-term relaxation haven whilst also being on hand to answer calls of nature and facilitate speedy beautification or make-up adjuetment. Given the strains the bathroom faces on a daily basis and varied roles served: it only seems fair to lavish some care and attention upon this often overlooked room. With this in mind here are some quick and simple ways to give your bathroom a new lease of life without spending a fortune.

Invest in New Brassware

Long gone are the days of dull taps with plastic handles which drain any sense of style from the basin area of the bathroom. There are a vast array of innovative bathroom fixture manufacturers out there such as Sagittarius taps who create exciting, eye catching and practical bathroom taps to suit all tastes. Whether your style leans towards minimalism, traditional styling or indeed anywhere in between there are certain to be attractive and appropriate tap options out there for you to add some functional bling to your bathroom.

Co-ordinate the Bath Linen

As with pretty much every other room in the house, well co-ordinated accessories can totally revitalise the bathroom. As opposed to investing in knick-knacks or trinkets for your bathroom suite however, a great course of action is to splash out on co-ordinated luxury towels and bath linen. As well as bringing cohesion to the look of your bathroom, high quality towels also bring obvious practicality and day to day comfort benefits.

Add Floral Flourishes

A vase of fresh flowers or indeed well positioned dried flowers or potpourri brings not only a welcome fragrance to the bathroom but also serves as attractive and homely visual features. Contemporary styled bathrooms in particular can be a little stark and clinical; the introduction of some natural beauty can lift the entire room and make the bathroom into a totally different space.

A complete overhaul of the family bathroom, work bathroom or an en suite bathroom can be an incredibly costly endeavour. Provided your fixtures and sanitary ware are functional and presentable, these small changes could make a major difference with minimal outlay.

The famous debate of whether working from home is more productive

A common on-going argument is whether the home is more productive than the office. Employees nod their heads vigorously when asked the question whilst managers shudder at the thought of their workforce switching office tasks for This Morning. There are many aspects of working at home and in the office which divide managers and their employees’ opinions.

Travel

A common argument of working in the office is the time spent commuting. Many people argue their time spent travelling to the office could be used as working time instead. Bosses argue they know their workers too well to trust them with such a responsibility.

Home: The 2 hour commute to the office can be switched for valuable working/TV time.

Office: The fact workers have to travel to the office means they have to get out of bed. It’s up to you to decide whether this is a pro or a con…

Distractions

Many bosses believe there will be too many distractions if working from home that effect productivity, resulting in less work being completed. What they don’t realise is that there are probably even more distractions in the workplace.

Home: Screaming children will actually drive a worker into their home office, instructing their partner to tame their offspring as they “have work to do”.

Office: Water coolers prove more of a gossip meeting point rather than providing a thirst for knowledge.

Stationery

Working from home means employees have to be responsible for their own office supplies, in the workplace everything is provided, generally in one cupboard. There is the other factor that supplies within the office tend to go missing.

Home: All stationery is one tidy place and home workers generally know where this is in their own office. Stationery supplies can also make excellent weapons, convenient for attacking intruders or annoying partners.

Office: If an employee is running low on supplies there are many other workers they can steal their much needed stationery from.

Facilities

Home comforts are much more appealing than the communal facilities that are on offer in the workplace. Sharing a fridge with the rest of the workforce generally results in some thieves being named and shamed.

Home: Having a fully functioning kitchen within the building means the ready meal diet can be ditched.

Office: Communal toilets means listening to co-workers perform their daily bathroom businesses which can be a great source of entertainment.

Although there are pros and cons to working at home and in the office it generally depends on the person. Some people are more productive in the home whereas others prefer to leave the house and have a change of scenery. Bosses should assess the person on their productivity in the office in order to decide whether they are better working at home or in the office.

Everyone knows the feeling of receiving their monthly pay cheque, excitement and overwhelming sense of relief greets the employee as they see a reasonable figure appear in their bank balance. This is usually followed the next week by an exclamation of “where did all my money go?!” Reality seems to prove that office workers’ budgeting skills aren’t quite up to scratch.

It seems working in the office can actually cost you money. This is most probably due to lifestyle and convenience choices.

Long commutes

Although travelling to and from work is technically out of your control, it’s worth considering other options due to recent fuel price hikes. Conduct some research on public transport prices to see if there are any cheaper options. Sharing cars with those who live nearby and splitting the costs can also save money, just avoid pulling too many sickies and stranding your colleague.

If travel costs are becoming too high for your weekly budget try to negotiate with your boss rather than struggle in silence. There may be a way you can work from home for a few days of the week to reduce travel expenses.

Food for thought

Office workers tend to have bad snacking habits. Sitting at a desk all day can spark boredom, which in turn causes snacking. Vending machines and junk food are readily available in many offices, stuffed with overpriced snacks.

Try to pack your own lunches and healthy snacks and have them on your desk to avoid trips to the vending machine. Not only are vending machine snacks unhealthy they also amount to quite a large expenditure over a month.

Tempting online deals

Working online guarantees millions of adverts bombard you each week. Ranging from junk emails to ads on websites the internet’s worse than walking down a high street. Combine that with purses and wallets beside you all day, it’s easy to see where your wage disappears.

To get avoid temptation through emails unsubscribe to any companies which email you of their latest deals and offers, this will remove one channel of temptation. In regards to adverts there’s not really any way you can avoid them. Leave your credit card at home when possible to prevent yourself from spending and avoid requiring a bad credit debt consolidation loan. However, memorising your card details is completely defeating the object.

To avoid running up masses of debt you should plan a weekly/monthly budget and stick to it. Money worries can amount to stress and illness and even ruin relationships. Before caving in to temptation, check your finances and outstanding payments before jumping into a hefty purchase.

Aside from the basic stationery resources; pens, pencils and paper, there are a range of office supplies available which serve many different purposes. Some are to assist productivity and others are to lighten the mood. Some can also improve communication between colleagues in the office and ensure important messages are easily accessible to different people.

Display board/ notice board

Display and notice boards are an excellent means of communication between certain groups of office workers. They can be easily assembled using glue guns and allow for notices to be pinned to them. Company news and progress can be displayed on them along with targets and achievements. They can also be used as a community board, alerting employees of future charity events and job opportunities.

Appropriate use: They are extremely convenient for larger firms whose employees’ may not all be in the same office at the same time.

Inappropriate use: Display boards and colleagues should be treated with respect, pinning a picture of you baring your behind at the Christmas party is something your colleagues could probably live without.

Post-it notes

Sticky notes are another convenient method of communication between few individuals rather than a large group or department. They’re very handy for jotting contact details down on and reminding yourself or others of an important task that needs finishing. The adhesive which is created using glue sticks makes them easy to stick anywhere.

Appropriate use: Giving your colleague details of someone they need to contact, along with a reminder.

Inappropriate use: Writing your phone number and sticking it in various places around the office in a desperate bid to get yourself a date isn’t attractive. Writing “hottie” as the name of contact won’t help either.

Desktop friends

For those who have made themselves increasingly unpopular over the years a desktop friend may be the last resort of social interaction. Placing a soft toy or action hero on your desk can make your work space feel more personal.

Appropriate use: Having a superhero on desk will make you feel invincible and ready to tackle any workload.

Inappropriate use: A blow-up doll will probably result in a letter of dismissal heading your way.

Water cooler

Although water coolers may appear to function solely as a meeting point for gossip queens, drinking water throughout the day can improve productivity levels and brain function. Staring at a computer screen all day can result in mid-afternoon headaches, keeping replenished on water can help to keep you hydrated and reduce headaches.

Appropriate use: Replenishing water supplies to remain hydrated, they’re also a great excuse to stretch your legs.

Inappropriate use: “Accidentally” spilling a glass of water over female colleagues so their top becomes translucent. You will be deemed as the office creep.

Kettle

Productivity levels wouldn’t be the same without regular caffeine fixes. You may notice employee numbers will diminish without the presence of a kettle; it’s definitely one of the most essential office products.

Appropriate use: Making a cheeky pot noodle when the canteen is a few too many strides away.

Inappropriate use: Overfilling the kettle so it overflows onto a plug socket in an attempt to be sent home for the day. You may end up footing the repairman’s bill.

DG Office Supplies iPod Giveaway

Here at DG Office Supplies, we are relishing the summer spirit and want to spread the joy! This is why we are launching 2 summer competitions where you could have the chance of winning one of the four iPod Shuffles that we are giving away! The four winners will be chosen at random and notified of their victory via email on 2^nd September 2011 – a perfect end to the summer!

How to Enter

We have two competitions running this summer, which means you have two different ways of entering. See below for details of our competitions and entry procedures.

Competition number 1: DGOS Business Entry

Simply sign up for a DGOS business account before 2^nd September 2011 to be in with a chance of winning one of our iPod Shuffles. You can fill in the quick and easy form here http://www.dgosbusiness.co.uk/.

Competition number 2: Facebook Entry

To be in with the chance of winning an iPod Shuffle this September simply visit and “like” our Facebook page and enter your name and email address into the “competition zone”. We always respect the privacy of our entrants so you don’t have to worry about telling us your email address; we just need it to inform you if you’ve won! Visit our Facebook page now for your chance to win http://www.facebook.com/dgos.uk

As mentioned before, both competitions will end on 2^nd September 2011 so make sure you get your entry in before this date. Good luck!

With technology evolving at continually rapid rates it’s no wonder human interaction has contracted a middle man in the form of social media sites. Popping into your boss’s office with a query or complaint is rapidly becoming a thing of the past.

Electronic messages, including emails and social media messages, aren’t only fast and convenient but they’re also private and prevent nosey colleagues from eaves dropping. However, technology has its drawbacks on working life, making information about your personal life easily accessible to colleagues who you don’t necessarily want to share it with. Here are some common e-blunders and their effects on your working life.

1. Privacy from your employees is minimal

If you have a friend who relishes in your embarrassment then beware of cringe worthy photographs being uploaded at your expense. Pictures of you urinating in a bush on a boozy weekend will be easily accessible to your colleagues and superiors. There’s no doubt you will be branded as the office clown for the duration of your employment.

2. You will start to worry about your credentials as a stalker

Adding your colleagues as friends can result in serious symptoms of a stalker becoming apparent. If you find yourself “happening to land on your colleague’s mum’s profile” then you’ve caught the online stalking bug.

3. Leaving your profile uploaded in your absence is a rookie mistake

There’s nothing more enlightening for the office slump than a casual profile hacking. If you leave to make everyone a brew and return to find horrific tweets in your name – you’re evidently a victim of online office mockery. In this situation you must delete the offending tweets and seek revenge ASAP. Also, advice your co-workers there are more appreciative methods of thanking you for your hospitality.

4. Your two faces will be brought to light

Social profile updates venting anger can have disastrous consequences – using foul and offensive language to describe your boss isn’t advisable. You may not exactly who can view your profile and who does so, on a regular basis.

5. The internet’s one big tell-tale

Sharing your secret with the internet is like informing a tabloid newspaper of football-related gossip. Posting statuses of how much alcohol you’ve consumed on a Sunday night aren’t going to land you a promotion in the foreseeable future. Your boss will not only suspect a hangover the following day but has concrete evidence to support his claim. Furthermore, faking a sick day and then sharing incriminating information with the world such as “just having a round of golf” is equally as disastrous.

The bottom line of social media is that it can be a lethal combination when used in-line with work. You’re effectively broadcasting intimate details of your social and personal life and they are accessible to everyone involved in your life, including your boss. Before sharing information think wisely of whether it’s appropriate for viewing by the people who have access to it.